Tono Stano “Sense”

The above photo, titled “Sense”, of a woman encased in black fabric with the exception of her face and a thin line of her naked body launched Tono Stano’s career as a photographer. Mainly known for his art photography of female nudes in black and white, the Slovakian photographer started out as an art photographer for film studios in the-then Czechoslovakia, and developed a new style of photography, deeply influenced by performance art.

“Sense” had since become Stano’s calling card. Taken in 1992, it also seems to have symbolized the re-emergence of the Eastern European photography from behind the Iron Curtain, stepping out from the shadows of darkness. The image was bought by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios and they commissioned a similar photo as the poster for the film Showgirls (below right); it also appeared on the cover of the landmark photography book by William A. Ewing “The Body” (below left). On its cover, the image was slightly cropped for to made it look more abstract).